Good grief, it's a dang good thing I put dinner on before I came here!! Everything looks and sounds out of this world wonderful. No wonder I hang around with you peeps! Some of my "no cook" local friends, have stopped doing a double take when I talk about my cooking buddies here.....you are all rock stars in my book!

I have on a pot of My Shortcut Chili Verde, and it sure smells like a Mexican mama's house here, even though I'm Irish and German. Buen Comer!!

Thank you K!!

We had Route 66 chili. I bought the chili kit from Cracker Barrel. It had mixed dry beans and a packet of spices. The recipe has unsweetened cocoa powder but it didn’t kill the heat. I didn't soak the beans, just stuck them in the pressure cooker and 15 minutes later they were beans!! LOL

We had Route 66 chili. I bought the chili kit from Cracker Barrel. It had mixed dry beans and a packet of spices. The recipe has unsweetened cocoa powder but it didn’t take kill the heat. I didn't soak the beans, just stuck them in the pressure cooker and 15 minutes later they were beans!! LOL

I ended up marinating the steaks in teriyaki and due to some added unexpected guests had to do a couple of chicken breasts on the grill. I quick marinated them in Italian dressing. I meant to take pics but forgot! We ended up deep frying some frozen potatoes did not get a chance to run out for potatoes to make baked. It was still good tho! Added some veggies and applesauce. The dog got the "fat" and grizzle so she was happy too!

Best part was having everyone around the table, and getting them all to wait for me to finish cooking before they started eating.

I made cream of mushroom soup using dried mushrooms. It was okay. I probably won't make it again that way.

I have done this and had good results. It's important to completely rehydrate them before using them. While the are rehydrating you can be sauteeing the onion and garlic in butter, once they are sauteed, stir in your flour, salt and pepper. Cook for a little to get rid of the flour taste. Drain your mushrooms, save the liquid!!!! Fine chop some, leave others bit bigger. Stir into your roux and cook for about 5 minutes, keep stirring. Slowly stir in your soak liquid, cook until thickened. Just before serving, stir in cream or milk product of choice. Arrgh! Heaven!

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__________________“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” - Albert Einstein